​The Third Annual Symposium on Equity in the Entertainment Industry and Awards will be held on February 23rd from 12-3pm at Stanford University. Tamila Gresham (founder and CEP of Represent) will give the keynote.  Awards will be given to local feminist theater luminaries Velina Brown, Lily Tung Crystal, and Torange Yeghiazarian.  Registration is free.  More info here.

​We, the undersigned theater artists, are concerned about your upcoming production of THE MIKADO to be produced at multiple Bay Area venues. We recently learned of your March 25 press release stating that “in the spirit of sensitivity,” you intend to alter your original plan and set the production in England.
 
We understand that our conversations and the resulting community pressure have prompted you to rethink your production. Yet, in light of this shift, we have a few remaining questions. 

YBCA 100

Lily Tung Crystal and Mina Morita have been named to the YBCA 100, a group of "creative minds, makers, and pioneers...who are making the provocations that will shape the future of American culture.” Thank you, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, for the great honor.
 
And thank you, YBCA, for hosting the exciting forum “Equitable Representation in the Arts” in May. You’ve helped inspire diversity on Bay Area stages. Change is happening!

If there's one thing 2016 taught us, it's that both nationally and locally we need a safe space for artists and the underrepresented. 

This year, you've seen us build community and instigate change with our work on The Mikado. We've promoted countless Asian American theatre artists and given voice to women and other marginalized people in our fHERocious New Play Readings. 

It's important now, more than ever, to keep telling our stories and push towards equity on stage and in our communities. But we can only do that together. 

Every Friday in December is Ferocious Friday. Celebrate this weekend by helping us reach our fundraising goal of $8,888.88*. We're already 25% there!

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​The Dramatists Guild of America has announced that Martyna Majok and our own Christopher Chen are co-recipients of the 2017 Lanford Wilson award for early career playwright. 

The New Mikado
We recently saw THE NEW MIKADO and heartily endorse it. They did wonderful work with the libretto, making only minor changes, staying true to the script, while opening it up to a wider, more diverse audience. It was clever, hilarious, and full of heart.

Congratulations, Lamplighters, and the entire cast, crew and creative team! And thank you immensely for being in conversation with us these past few months.